An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics

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1. antogniniSep 2026
   I'd recommend Carroll & Ostlie's Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, though it requires some basic calculus and physics.
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2. neovialogisticsSep 2023
   I've not read much about astronomy or cosmology compared to topics nearer to Earth and found this to be the most interesting thing I've seen on wikipedia in years. I'm picking up a copy of Carroll and Ostlie's Introduction to Modern Astrophysics.

   Are there any other niche topics in astronomy that I may find deeply interesting?

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3. turbodamiJul 2021
   I would suggest “An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics” by Bradley W Carroll and Dale A Ostlie.
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4. rasmiOct 2018
   An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Carroll & Ostlie is the Bible, but it is quite large physically and in scope and better serves as a reference for most people.

   For various topics, I would look at:

   Introduction to Cosmology by Ryden for cosmology at the undergraduate level.

   Cosmology by Weinberg.

   The Exoplanet Handbook by Perryman.

   An Introduction to Modern Stellar Astrophysics by Carroll & Ostlie.

   Particle Astrophysics by Perkins.

   Modern Statistical Methods for Astronomy by Feigelson.

   Statistics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning in Astronomy by Ivezic.

   I can post more in other topics if anyone is interested.

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5. splatJul 2009
   Depends on what sort of knowledge you're trying to get. If you just want to be able to point out constellations, I would recommend The Stars by H. A. Rey (yes, the same guy who wrote Curious George). It's unique in that it displays the constellations in a manner that makes them actually look like what they're trying to represent (which ends up making them much easier to find). There's also some good descriptions of the mythology behind many of the constellations and some other interesting features in the sky that can be picked out with the naked eye or binoculars. There's also a section at the end that discusses the celestial sphere (how the sky changes during the seasons, the ecliptic, precession, etc.).

   If you want something with more depth, I highly recommend Night Sky from St. Martin's Press. It's a little 300 page field guide that will give you a comprehensive introduction to the heavens and basic astronomy and provides you with enough data to go out observing with. The first quarter of the book is devoted to introducing the fundamentals of astronomy from the celestial sphere, to coordinate systems, to telescope designs, to the magnitude system, to variable stars, and stellar evolution. The rest of the book contains star charts, detailed descriptions of each of the constellations and interesting objects therein, and information on the planets. The only problem is that the book is a bit old, so the tables of data (sunset times, positions of the planets, etc.) are now out of date. Nevertheless, it's well worth buying.

   If you would like a more serious introduction to astronomy and know some basic physics and calculus, you can do no better than to read Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Carroll & Ostlie (affectionately known as BOB -- the Big Orange Book). It's about 1500 pages long and covers absolutely everything in astronomy. It's clear, comprehensive, and will likely tell you everything you need to know.

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6. xingyztAug 2023
   It's accurate. Stellar winds are the primary driver of mass loss for stars near the end of their lives. Asymptotic red giants have extremely voluminous and sparse atmospheres very loosely bound by gravity; any excess radiation pressure would create an instability and blow away portions of the outer envelope. Eventually this exposes a dense, glowing carbon/oxygen/neon core surrounded by a fraction of the original atmosphere (exact composition varies), which we call a white dwarf.

   Further reading: Ch. 13, Carroll & Ostlie, Introduction to Modern Astrophysics

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